The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
Internal combustion engines typically include an arrangement of pistons and cylinders located within an engine block. In a four stroke engine, each cylinder has at least two valves. These valves control the flow of air to the combustion cylinders and allow for venting of combustion exhaust gasses. A simple valve arrangement includes an intake valve and an exhaust valve, each actuated by a valve train. The valve train typically includes a camshaft with cam followers that actuate respective pushrods and rocker assemblies. The rocker assemblies in turn actuate respective intake and exhaust valves.
Though unlikely, it is possible that during operation of the valve train, a failure may occur in one of the various components. One such failure could include a mistimed event. A mistimed event may occur when the intake valve in an engine employing cylinder deactivation is inadvertently reactivated before the activation of the exhaust valve. In this scenario, the intake valve is forced open against combustion and exhaust gasses under large amounts of pressure. These gasses may create as much as 19.5 kN of force and cause failures in expensive and/or difficult to replace components within the valve train or engine. Accordingly, it is desirable that the valve train is designed to fail at controlled locations in order to prevent more extensive damage to the valve train and/or engine during a mistiming event